Michelle Santiago Named CCCAA State Athlete of the Month

Jun 21, 2018

(Sacramento, CA) Mt. SAC Softball Catcher, Michelle Santiago, was named the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Women's Student-Athlete of the Month for May. The award is presented monthly by the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) to the states' outstanding student-athlete, among all-sports. Santiago becomes the 13th Mountie to receive this prestigious award since it's inception. Mt. SAC has had at least one recipient of this award since 2013. On the men's side, Mountie Distance Runner, Salvador Capetillo was named one of two, honorable mention's for the Month of May.

May Female Athlete of the MonthMichelle Santiago | Mt. San Antonio College | Women's Softball | Sophomore
The championship laden month of May was an unforgettable month for Mounties catcher, Michelle Santiago. Santiago, from John Burroughs H.S. in Burbank, guided Mt. SAC to an undefeated, 8-0 record during May, leading the Mounties to their fifth CCCAA State Championship and earning her state championship MVP honors. The sophomore catcher out of John Burroughs High School (Burbank, CA), finished her career with moments few could dream of. She started off her month by being named to the All-South Coast Conference North Division team. She followed that up by hitting .391 in the post-season, as the Mounties finished a perfect playoffs by going 8-0 in May. In the State Championships, Santiago really shined, hitting .455 and slugging 1.000. After not hitting a home run all year long, Santiago went yard twice in the State Championships. Santiago finished the weekend with five runs and eight RBIs. Behind the plate, Santiago didn't commit a single error or allow a passed ball, and threw out one of the two would be base stealers on the weekend. Santiago would go on to be named the Most Valuable Player of the 2018 CCCAA State Softball Championships. In the fifth inning, game one of the state championships, Santiago belted her very first homerun of the season. The two run homerun gave the Mounties a 2-1 lead, which they held on to for the win over Ohlone. In Mt. SAC’s second game of the state championships and her next at bat, she hit her second home run of the season - a grand slam which gave the Mounties an early 4-0 lead that eventually led to a 10-3 win over El Camino College. Defensively in May, Santiago caught 55 innings (every inning of every game during the playoffs/month) and threw out 2 runners (3 attempts).

Honorable Mention - MenSalvador Capetillo | Mt. San Antonio College | Men's Track & Field | Freshman
Distance specialist Salvador Capetillo, from Baldwin Park H.S., produced an incredible month of May for the Mt. SAC Mounties Track and Field Program. The freshman out of Baldwin Park High School (Baldwin Park, CA) went undefeated in the month of May, culminating with CCCAA State Championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. The twenty team points he scored for the Mounties led the team to the 2018 team title and also helped set the all-time CCCAA Men’s Track and Field State Championship team points record of 160. In May, Capetillo also captured Southern California Championships titles in the 5,000 and 10,000M, which led the Mountie Men to a Southern California Championship Team Title with a whopping score of 231.5 points. In the state championships, Capetillo’s dominance showed as he captured the 10,000 meters with a time of 31.25.93, 11 seconds faster than the second place finisher. In the 5,000 meters, his time of 15:32.12 was 7 seconds over the second place finisher. Capetillo finishes the season with a personal best in the 10,000 meters of 31:02.35 (San Francisco State Distance Carnival - 03/30) and 14:26.94 (Mt. SAC Relays - 04/19) in the 5,000 meters which ranks as the #2 community college mark in the nation (2018 season).